Lunch counter in Frijoles Canyon, c. 1950s. Courtesy/NPSNPS News:
The National Park Service (NPS) announces the release of two prospectuses for the award of two new concession contracts in Bandelier National Monument.
Solicitation number CC-BAND002-18 is for the award of a concession contract to provide food and beverage services from Historic Building 17, and solicitation number CC-BAND003-18 is for the award of a concession contract to provide retail and winter recreation equipment rental services from Historic Building 15.
The NPS seeks to revitalize the Bandelier National Historical Landmark District in Frijoles Canyon by increasing visitor services through these two concessions. The current gift shop location, Building 17, will become a fast casual restaurant with counter service and dining indoors as well as in the adjacent outdoor courtyards.
Additionally, the NPS intends for a retail concession operation to open in Building 15, just to the southeast of the restaurant. This location offers much more space than the current location for the sale of souvenir and gift items, and enough space for recreational equipment rental. Historically, Building 15 served as a family-style restaurant until it was converted to administration offices in the 1960s.
Throughout 2017, the NPS removed these later alterations to the interior of Building 15 to reveal the historic architectural features and prepare it for its new purpose. In the near future, the NPS plans to further restore the exterior of the building by reopening a courtyard behind the building.
The current concessioner, Pajarito Plateau Trading Co., LLC, doing business as Bandelier Trading Company, operates under the existing concession contract that will expire on December 31, 2017.
Visitor services will be closed from January 1until the concessions open on March 1, 2018, under the new concession contracts. During the two month closure, the NPS will rehabilitate each building interior and the concessioner operations will move in.
“These new concession contracts support the original intentions of Frijoles Canyon’s development in the 1930s when the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the visitor center, restaurant, and lodge to make every visitor’s experience comfortable, enjoyable, and educational,” explained the Monument’s Superintendent Jason Lott. “We hope to enhance today’s visitor experience by offering a wider range of services and choices. Visitors could choose to eat in or take a meal to go for an outdoor picnic. They could choose from a larger selection of souvenir items, including handicrafts made by local Pueblo artists, or choose to rent outdoor equipment so they may more easily explore the Bandelier Wilderness.”
The retail concession contract will also continue to provide firewood sales in the Juniper and Ponderosa campgrounds within the Monument.
Each of these 10-year concession contracts is anticipated to take effect March 1, 2018. The National Park Service determined that there is no preferred offeror for either of these contracts (pursuant to the terms of 36 C.F.R. Part 51); therefore, each of these solicitations is fully competitive.
Parties interested in learning more about these exciting new business opportunities and in finding out how to submit a proposal should visit the National Park Service’s Commercial Services website at https://concessions.nps.gov/prospectuses.htm.
Links on this page lead to each prospectus, which describes each business opportunity in detail, lists the terms and conditions of the contract, and provides proposal instructions. Hard copies of the prospectuses are available from the National Park Service Intermountain Regional Office per the information on the National Park Service Commercial Services website. Interested parties should submit questions about these opportunities by email before the question-and-answer period ends on October 12, 2017.
All offers must be received by Jennifer Parker, Chief of Concessions, NPS, Intermountain Region, 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228 no later than 4 p.m. MST Nov. 29, 2017.
